match_preview_t20

Spinners and pacers will have an equal role when Pakistan and South Africa face each other in the first semi-final of the ICC World T20 Championship on Thursday. With the track helping the spinners in the recent matches, it would be a keen fight between the bowlers of the two sides.

Traditionally the Trent Bridge wicket has been helpful to the pacers and spinners alike. The wicket has not provided much of an advantage to the side batting first, but in the last two Super 8s matches played, the side batting first turned around the game in their favour with the spinners holding the limelight.

Bowling Performance of Pakistan and South Africa in ICC T20

According to Castrol Index, Pakistan spinners have exploited the turning track a shade better than the Proteas’. Going into the semi-final match, the roles of Pak spinners Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik will not only be able to contain runs but also to pick wickets. However, the current venomous form of Umer Gul cannot be overlooked. He has picked up 12 wickets in the tournament so far conceding only 6.3 runs per over.

The South African spinning duo of Roelof van der Merwe and Johan Botha and the part-time efforts of Jean Paul Duminy successfully defended a paltry score of 130 against the Indians. But the Proteas’ pacers have also been instrumental in shouldering the team’s Bowling Efficiency of 267.

Any score beyond 160 can be considered a challenging total as the average first innings score at Trent Bridge is around 150. In the last two matches, it became difficult for the chasers to force the pace against quality spinners on the slow turning wicket. Both the teams will be worried about the slow nature of the pitch under the lights. In view of this, it will be better to opt for batting first. But if it’s a close match, South Africa definitely holds an edge over Pakistan as shown by their better Extreme Pressure Performance index.